A video of a bridge in Japan that appears to be nearly as steep as a rollercoaster has gone viral on Instagram.
The clip was posted by Vineed Kumar (@foodandtravel_japan), who is an Indian expat living in Japan, according to his Instagram profile. The video has had more than 12.2 million views since it was shared on December 30 last year.
A message overlaid on the video reads: "Japan's most terrifying bridge. Eshima Ohashi (Eshima Grand Bridge)." The footage shows cars driving up and down a bridge that appears to have a very sharp incline. A caption shared with the post simply says: "Japan's rollercoaster."
The World's 'Scariest' Bridge
Often dubbed the world's craziest or scariest bridge, the Eshima Ohashi Bridge has been a popular tourist attraction and internet sensation for its unusual-looking slope since its construction in 2004.
Spanning just over a mile (1.7 kilometers) across Lake Nakaumi, the bridge runs between the city of Sakaiminato in the Tottori Prefecture and Eshima in the Shimane Prefecture on Honshu, Japan's largest and most populous island.
"Seen from the Shimane side, the bridge looks impossibly steep. However, in reality, the bridge has a gradient of 6.1 percent on the Shimane side and 5.1 percent on the Tottori side," says the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) website.
The bridge's gradient pales in comparison to the world's steepest street or road—Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand, which has a gradient of 34.8 percent, according to Guinness World Records.
There is also a street in Wales in the U.K. named Ffordd Pen Llech that has an "inside curve" with a 37.45 percent gradient. "However, curvatures are not an overall representation of steepness, which is why Baldwin Street is the recognized record holder," says Guinness World Records.
Apart from being one of the world's scariest bridges, Eshima Ohashi is also the largest rigid-frame bridge in Japan and the third largest in the world, according to the JNTO.
Those looking to capture the seemingly steep gradient of the Eshima Ohashi Bridge will need to "snap it from near the convenience store at the intersection on the Shimane side," JNTO says.
Visitors can also walk or cycle to the center of the bridge, where telescopes and binoculars are available for free use to take in views of Lake Nakaumi and Mount Daisen, according to JNTO.
'I Used to Have Nightmares About This Bridge'
Users on Instagram were blown away by the footage in the latest clip, with some bizarrely writing that they have had nightmares about this bridge before.
User stearnsrachel posted, "I've dreamt of this and I've never seen or been here," while amongnoone added: "I used to have nightmares about this bridge when I was a kid."
Viewer m.kiang wrote: "Recurring nightmare. Didn't know this was a real bridge."
User mdanielleellis commented: "This is the bridge I've seen in my dreams that gave me nightmares. Once in a blue moon & it's real."
Others were in sheer disbelief, such as sharprasulo who posted: "This cannot be real."
User kenyathemighty simply wrote, "Absolutely not," and amieamyaime agreed, writing: "I'm alright thanks."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via Instagram. This video has not been independently verified.
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Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel and health.
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